December so far has seen a flurry of reps and advisers dashing to new firms, with big broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, including LPL Financial, Securities America and Cetera Financial Group, reporting the addition of veteran advisers and teams to their ranks.
And the market for RIA breakaways from the wirehouses is continuing its brisk pace: Mayflower Advisors, which managed $3.75 billion as a hybrid affiliate of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, known as FiNet, became an independent RIA.
It's no wonder. A long and difficult year is finally coming to a close, and the pent-up demand for financial advisers to jump, finally, to a new business platform is playing out as the days dwindle.
The spate of moves over the past week is the confluence of several events, the most notable of which is COVID-19.
The pandemic required a huge shift in all the business models that comprise the financial advice and wealth management industries, and recruiting slowed down noticeably during and after the pandemic. Advisers' moves were delayed by the pandemic, and many are completing those transitions in the last couple months of the year.
"With so many advisers putting off transition back in March, April and May, right now is all that activity catching up," one recruiter said.
Two more points: if advisers move before year end, they avoid paying double annual registration fees with regulators like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. and the states. For large enterprises, those fees can add up. And finally, much of Finra slows down in the last week of the year, making it almost impossible for an investment adviser rep to switch registration to a new firm between Christmas and New Year's day.
So, if an adviser was going to switch firms in 2020, it really needed to happen this week or maybe next, at the latest.
Chicago-based Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions adds flexPATH's plan-level outsourced fiduciary book, boosting its retirement market reach to $164 billion.
Also, Raymond James's employee advisor channel adds breakaways from Wells Fargo and Stifel, while UBS welcomes an ex-Morgan Stanley duo in Indiana.
It promised guaranteed principal and 10% monthly returns. The SEC says it invested nothing.
Ten years after entering the fee-based annuity market, MassMutual Ascend says nearly half its lifetime sales came in the past two years alone – but barriers remain among fee-only advisors.
Amplify, WealthReach, Zeplyn and Zocks have unveiled partnerships aimed at automating portfolio management, content creation, account opening, and client communication.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
